Of course, the bambino was with us.
We fist visited the scenic Lipa Basilica of San Sebastián that had the loveliest ceiling and plaza.
Traffic around Lipa was terrible that Thursday with the onslaught of people visiting the churches.
We visited Carmel Church next to pay respects to Our Lady Mediatrix of All Graces.
I remember visiting Carmel 20+ years ago and glad that I'm visiting it now with Gavin as I've always pray to the Lady ever since.
My best friend, Babits, whose family has a devotion to Carmel and has continually visited her church every first Saturday recommended that we eat at Lipa Grille. Super puno so we had to eat outside at the place without aircon. Food was great, but the scorching heat made it really unbearable to stay any longer.
We made a pit stop at the Benedictine Monastery in Lipa too. It reminded me of the time that I was studying in St. Scho with the Ora et Labora belief which was in the statue at their entrance.
After Lipa, we travelled for half an hour to reach the heritage town of Taal.
We went to Our Lady of Casaysay first.
They say that local Fishermen caught the statue of Our Lady in the water while fishing. It was also believed that her small statue may have been dropped by one of the capsized Chinese vessels in the 1600s when there was a strong Chinese trade in Batangas.
It is believed that the spring water near the chapel, where the statue was apparently found, is miraculous. We walked to visit the site as well. My dad can't help but wash Gavin's head with the water. Super init kasi....plus also to bless Gavin's first Visita Iglesia.
The last church that we visited was the majestic Taal Basilica. This is the biggest church in Asia.
The altar is made up of gold and silver. It has the longest aisle and the most beautiful ceiling treatment that I ever saw in the Philippines.
It looks like a Roman Church, really :)
The trip was all the more special because my Lola, Tita Belen, her special someone, My cousin Yum and Tito George joined us.
Even the outside facade was beautiful.
I'm really glad that we did his road trip. It made me appreciate old local churches more and it also opened my eyes to the different local beliefs of faith :)
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